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Trust and Relationships
Trust and Relationships The most difficult problem to overcome with a virtual team is communication and cooperation over the internet. The lack of face-to-face interaction can really hurt a virtual team. Talking face-to-face does much more than allow smother communication and eliminate almost all understandings, it builds relationships. If people can put a face to a name and can associate who they are to with more than an email address, it makes it much easier to communicate. If teams can build a relationship with one another it makes virtual teamwork much easier. People in a team who know each other well will work well together. In his book Paul Hildreth got this response during an interview “you need the personal relationship if you are to go the extra half mile for someone.”1 A faceless correspondent doesn’t evoke the same emotions and feelings of teamwork that a friend does. When people can put a face to a name it helps build a relationship that is otherwise very lacking in virtual teams. Trust is an essential part of good teamwork and is even more essential in a virtual setting than in a physical setting 2. Once built, trust in your virtual team members and your relationships with them lead to a better team. As members get to know each other and build a mutual trust they “have confidence in each other”1 and confidence in their interactions. Without such relationships team efforts can easily become mired in mistrust and a lack of meaningful interactions. Building Relationships Virtual teams can benefit greatly from team building exercises, even more than a physical team. The easiest way to develop meaningful relationships is through self exposure. In his book Patrick Lecioni has this to say about trust “Members of great teams trust one another on a fundamental, emotional level, and they are comfortable being vulnerable with each other about weaknesses, mistakes, fears, and behaviors.”3 The main way to establish trust in a team is to share with each other. Sharing embarrassing stories, childhood stories, or even just stories about what has happened in your life recently will help break the ice and establish a comfortable and trusting environment. Being vulnerable can be very difficult for some people, but overcoming that fear will lead to a better team. While these kinds of exercises are probably best conducted in person and face-to-face, that isn’t an option for a lot of virtual teams. Instead teams should be encouraged to try to converse and socialize outside of the normal working interactions. Personal emails, social networks, and instant messaging are great ways to get to know someone better electronically and help take some of the formality out of work related communication. If possible video chatting is another fantastic way to communicate and is a decent approximation of face-to-face interactions. All of these activities help build a sense of relationship and even friendship that goes so much deeper than typical working relationships. Conclusion Virtual teams benifit greatly from well built relationships and mutual trust. If people are actually friends with and know their coworkers well, it makes communication much easier. In a virtual team, communication can be everything. The best way to improve workflow and help group moral is to help groups get to know eachother and build a trusting realtionship. Works Cited 1 Hildreth, Paul M. *Going Virtual: Distributed Communities of Practice*. Hershey, Pa: Idea Group Pub, 2004. Internet resource. 2 Kramer, Roderick M, and Tom R. Tyler. Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications, 1996. Print. 3 Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002. Print.